Xenophora, commonly calledcarrier shells, is a genus of medium-sized to large sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Xenophoridae, the carrier snails or carrier shells. The genus Xenophora is the type genus of the family Xenophoridae.
Xenophora is also the name of the quarterly magazine of the French Conchologist Association.
Xenophora meaning
Etymology
The name Xenophora comes from two ancient Greek words, and means "bearing foreigners", so-called because in most species the snail cements pieces of rock or shells to its own shell at regular intervals as the shell grows.
Description
The shells of species within this genus vary from small to large (diameter of base without attachments 19-90 mm; height of shell 21-60 mm), depressed-conical, with narrow to very narrow, simple peripheral edge, non-porcellanous ventrally. Foreign objects are attached to all whorls, with generally more than 30% of dorsal surface obscured by these objects. The foreign objects are usually medium-sized to large. Although the foreign objects are usually mollusk shells, pebbles, or small pieces of coral rock, in some instances a bottle cap has been attached by the snail to its shell.
Species
The genus Xenophora includes the following species and subspecies:
Xenophora tricostata Fischer von Waldheim, 1807: synonym of Xenophora (Xenophora) conchyliophora (Born, 1780)
Xenophora tulearensis Stewart & Kosuge, 1993: synonym of Xenophora (Xenophora) corrugata (Reeve, 1842)
Xenophora vulcanica Fischer von Waldheim, 1807: synonym of Xenophora (Xenophora) conchyliophora (Born, 1780)
Xenophora wagneri Philippi, 1855: synonym of Onustus indicus (Gmelin, 1791)
Extinct species
Extinct species within this genus include:
†Xenophora carditigera Nielsen and DeVries 2002
†Xenophora cummulans Brongniart 1823
†Xenophora delecta Guppy 1876
†Xenophora deshayesi Michelotti 1847
†Xenophora eocenica Abbass 1967
†Xenophora floridana Mansfield 1930
†Xenophora infundibulum (Brocchi, 1814)
†Xenophora palaeoafra Gliozzi and Malatesta 1983
†Xenophora paulinae Nielsen and DeVries 2002
†Xenophora rugata Abbass 1967
†Xenophora tatei Harris 1897
†Xenophora terpstrai Dey 1961
†Xenophora textilina Dall 1892
Fossil record
Fossils of Xenophora are found in marine strata from the Cretaceous to Quaternary (age range: from 89.3 to 0.012 million years ago.). Fossils are known all over the world.
